Books, Dogs, and Over-population

So many books, too little time. I'm in complete agreement with that t-shirt slogan. So why in the world would I bring another book - two, even! - into this world? Mhmmm. Well, you do have a point.

I'll admit that the absurdity of it hit me like a lead thesaurus while I was editing my second book in a coffee shop. In the rather fashionable (quaint-but-practical) custom of so many coffee shops, the walls in my favorite refueling spot (hello, Scribbles!) are lined with books.

Books without homes.

They are books with fine pedigrees, too - Michael Creighton's works stand next to spines bearing names like James Joyce and John Green and other folks you've heard of. Folks you've read or will read, when you have time.

And that brings me to my point. See, I really do have one!

Hoards of abandoned books can languish on shelves, or even in boxes, for years - each one will be revived and spring forth with new life the minute a loving owner picks it up.

That's not how it works for abandoned dogs. Or cats. Or any animal. So please, please, please - if you're any kind of human at all - spay and neuter your pets. Never, ever, ever, ever dump an animal.

Once you've mastered that, well then, you're ready to pass along your books to other readers who will pick them up and love them. ;)

~Diane Stresing

Finally, Hungry no More

Yep, that's right - I'm done. Am I the last person here to read The Hunger Games? Or does a review of the first in Suzanne Collins' super-popular series still require a spoiler alert?

Let me know ... I'm crafting my summary now. With help from my 10yo, who will probably get the byline ;)

Just What the World Needs - Another Self-Published Book

A book of personal essays, yet. Insert eye-roll here.

Obviously, this is an obligatory post of self-promotion.

So, have you read my new book yet?

Speaking of personal essays...

17 That Just Might Change Your Life

Tips from Writer's Digest about crafting reader-friendly personal essays  and

Places to publish them! 

Warm Up with a Trip to Summer Falls

Has the current deep freeze made you feel like you need a doctor?

Try Dr. Who, in Summer Falls.

Image from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/summer-falls

Not only does the title recall higher temperatures and the book get a good review, this guest post received a very warm welcome when it initially published last May. In fact, it was the most-read post of 2013!

So, what are you waiting for? Summer?

Anderson Gets It

“If things like . . . PTSD upset adults like me, what do they feel like to the teens who are trapped by them?” -- Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak, and other books you should be reading. 

Seriously, if you need another reason to pick up a book by this outstanding YA author (whose titles are most certainly good enough for adults to read!) please click immediately to her interview recently published in BookPage. 

Thank you. 

Have You Finished Your 2013-2014 To-Read List?

I know I haven't! I haven't finished my 2012 list yet, either. Bygones? No, just bigger stacks. Sigh.

But since it's more fun to reflect on books I'm glad I read than books I wish I had time to read... what was your favorite read of the 2013? And would you like to blog about it? I welcome guest posts, folks!

(The best way to reach me is via my silly Facebook page or by sending a message on Twitter.)

This year, there was no doubt about my favorite book. While I read an about-even mix of fiction and non-fiction titles, the amazing story of Henrietta Lacks, so well-told by Rebecca Skloot, was my hands-down favorite.

I hope you had a favorite (or a dozen) this year, and that 2014 brings you many more worth flipping through. Cheers!

Are White Chicks All That? Notes in the Margin & Unfinished Books of 2013

DON'T LOOK NOW but there are only 27 more reading days left in 2013. Sadly, Hilton Als' White Girls is going to be on my list of unfinished books this year. And it's a long list. ~ sigh ~

Why didn't White Girls make the gotta-finish pile of books? As much as I enjoyed (all 100+ pages of!) the first essay in the compilation, Tristes Tropiques also made my head hurt a bit. On some pages, I felt lost; then Als threw me a line and I got hooked again. One that grabbed me:

Rube's Cubes from Agweb.com

Our love was a confusion of non-twinning, that is, we didn't recognize anything of ourselves in the other. [p 17]

A fine line, isn't it?  But there's a big pond of brilliant writers and too many of them beckoned me at the time.

Addicted to Nonfiction?

In addition to Ann Pachett's tempting Truth and Beauty and her dear friend's Autobiography of a Face, I'm determined to close the year with no un-read issues of National Geographic and CRJ. And that's a daunting task.

Bridget Jones' New Tricks 

Sometimes it's easy to dismiss a book. I mean, you know right away if something isn't worth your time, right? Well, I thought so until the NYT made me think again about the middle-aged Bridget Jones. Dagnabbit.

What about you? I'm always open to guest bloggers -- whether you'd like to gloat about all the books you've read this year or wallow in the guilt of a too-tall stack of unfinished books. Or play a game, like Guess Who Has the Most Library Late Fees? That's always fun.*

Contact me if you wanna be my next guest poster!

~Diane Stresing

* I swear, it wasn't me!